Pumi’s Story

by Global Ministries | published on Oct 10, 2014

Greetings once again from the Kingdom of Swaziland! We have been pleased to watch the NCP (Neighborhood Care Point) at Mgungundlovu successfully growing many vegetables. In fact, on one trip recently, we brought back a carload of fresh lettuce to be sold by a local shop. The peppers, carrots, cabbage, sweet potatoes, maize, etc. continue to grow thanks to the work of several proud gardeners. At the other NCPs, Gogos (Grandmothers) continue to provide much needed preschool training and warm food for children.

Our days most recently have been filled with learning, alongside Tori, how schools in Swaziland operate, as well as trying to find healing for a Swazi young lady. Although there are people with illnesses everywhere in the world, we were as surprised as anyone when we felt called by God to help this one. I will call her Pumi to protect her identity. Pumi became an AIDS orphan when she was in 3rd grade. From that point, her Granny has been her mom. Although some children are not successful in finishing school and getting a job, Pumi was. She finished school then worked hard to get trained as a secretary, so she could work to support herself and her Granny. They are allowed to live on the rural homestead of Pumi’s uncle. This is both good and challenging. There is no well there, so they must fetch water frequently. The dirt roads in this area are not well maintained, so during the rainy season, busses and kombis (minibus taxis) are sometimes not available as the means of getting to and from work. Pumi has walked long distances many times just to make it to work, because she knows that she is fortunate to have a job. Every work day, even in the cold wind and rain, she walks from the bus rank downtown to her workplace. Her pay is probably about average, and her workplace does pay into a retirement fund for her. However, she has to budget for transportation, including work done on evenings and weekends.

Pumi has suffered from asthma and pneumonia for years, and when we came here and got to know her, she thought she was recovering from a case of pneumonia. As she didn’t get over it, Pumi went to a doctor who prescribed tablets for TB. Months later, her coughing got worse and worse. It began to interfere with her ability to work and her ability to sleep at night. Pumi has a strong love for God, a strong sense of morals, and never asked for anything, so with such a sweet spirit it was easy to come to love her.

We felt called by God to “adopt” Pumi and help her however we could. Pumi has asked us many times why we are helping her so much, and we tell her that it is due to God’s will. Who can explain why God does what God does? We also tell her that we have come to love her so much that we consider her our daughter. Tori (our 6 year old) calls Pumi (our 28 year old) “sisi” (sister) and loves her too.

After taking TB medications but still not feeling better, Pumi agreed to see a different doctor. After an x-ray and blood tests, the doctor showed us a large infection “sac” in her right lung and said that she was dangerously anemic. He ordered her 2 units of blood, which meant that she had to take 2 days off work and get someone to help with her Granny (she has dementia). She also needed to start taking some high-powered antibiotic tablets. Pumi was scared to receive someone else’s blood, and asked why her blood was “bad.” We explained that her blood would be healthier once she had transfusions, which would give her body a “jump start” to healing itself. She was afraid of needles and said the blood hurt as it went in, but she bravely did as the doctor asked.

Pumi even stayed strong when the antibiotics had some uncomfortable side effects. She began eating a more balanced diet and she began taking vitamins. After 2 months, she felt only a little better, and an x-ray revealed that the infected area had grown. The doctor sent sputum samples to a lab in South Africa to analyze for fungus. Sure enough after several days, we got the news that this was indeed a fungal infection in her lung. Now she needed to be treated with very strong anti-fungal IV medications for about 10 days, which was going to be quite expensive. Pumi didn’t want to have to take IV medications for many days, so she chose to try over-the-counter medications. After 21/2 months of that, Pumi could tell she was getting worse. She coughed harder and had great pain in her chest when she tried to take a deep breath.

A friend told Pumi about an internal medicine specialist, so we took her there for consultation. This doctor concurred with the firstdoctor that this was a fungus and needed many days of strong IV anti-fungal medicine. We put Pumi in a private hospital where she got 2 units of blood and 11 days of anti-fungal IV medicines. She still needed 10 more days of IV medication. She was definitely improving and even gaining weight, but we were compelled to transfer her to a government hospital.

We brought the 20 vials of necessary anti-fungal medicine with us to the rural government hospital (Mankayane). There they had to “stick” her each time they gave medicine, since they didn’t have lots of the tubing. By the time she finished the medicine, she had witnessed the death of 2 roommates and been “stuck” even in a vein in the top of her foot. We transported Pumi’s friends to the hospital every 2 days. Her sister and neighbor have been helping with her Granny. This has all been difficult for her Granny too. It is always difficult to see someone we care about in great pain, but the doctor told us it will continue until the hole in the lung healed. When Pumi has pain, we hold her hand, pray with her, cry with her, and call the nurse to see if there is anything they can possibly give for pain.

Once again we find ourselves feeling so very blessed and grateful for growing up in the United States with loving parents and that we have been quite healthy overall.

Sending blessings,

Terry and Diana serve as Long-term Volunteers with the Khukhan’Okusha Zion Church in Swaziland. They serve as coordinators of the development programs.